At one point I needed a new transmission for my clothes dryer. Another time I had to get the compressor swapped out on my refrigerator. Both of these occasions resulted in bills higher than I expected or planned for. Some would argue that I should have replaced both appliances on the spot, but I wasn’t financially endowed enough to afford a solution like that. Plus I had a maintenance contract with a handyman for this exact reason and situations whenever something in my house is in need of service or repair. I just wish that my handyman could fix and repair my air conditioner. After my HVAC technician had been over at my house four times in a sixth month time period, I wondered whether I had a lemon air conditioner or an incompetent repairman. I sought out a second and third opinion right before it broke down for the fifth time in a row. This scenario involved a broken fan motor in the air handler. After needing extensive repairs for five times in such a short time span, I decided that next time I would need to get a new system entirely. I just wish I had simply bought a new system after the second time it broke down, I probably could have covered half of the cost of a new system with just the repair bills for the existing one. If I’m going to buy a new system in a few months, I know that I want one with the highest SEER that I can possibly afford.